1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of power supplies, and more specifically to the regulation of power supplies. It involves a method for reducing the cost of regulation circuitry in switch mode power supplies.
2. Background Information
Accurate regulation of power supplies is important in many areas. For instance, in devices employing sensitive electronic circuitry such as computers and televisions maintaining accurate power supply output regulation is important to protect the electronic circuitry being powered from the output of the power supply, often referred to as the power supply load.
Power supply regulation involves keeping either a current or voltage delivered to a load within a specified range. A power supply is deemed to be in regulation if the load current or voltage is within the specified range and is deemed to be out of regulation if the load current or voltage is outside the specified range.
Problems associated with conditions where regulation is lost or there is instability in the power supply operation include damage to the load, improper load functioning, and the consumption of power by the load. It is therefore desirable to regulate a power supply output within specified limits. Due to the cost sensitive nature of many applications employing power supplies, it is also desirable to reduce the cost of the circuitry used to maintain output regulation and stable operation of a power supply.